Mother of hit-and-run victim: 'I can't imagine life without her'

Brittany Ramos wanted to own a restaurant. She went to culinary school and worked as a chef at restaurants across Tulare County.

Two days before her death, Brittany Ramos was hired as a chef at Fugazzi's Restaurant in Visalia.

She never started.

Robert and Lisa Ramos heard a knock on their door early Thursday morning. It was a parent's worst nightmare, Robert Ramos said.

When the couple opened the door, Tulare County sheriff's deputies were waiting outside.

"I knew it wasn't going to be good," Robert Ramos said.

Deputies informed the family their daughter had been killed in a collision.

California Highway Patrol officers were called just after 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday to a collision in Central Visalia.

While officers were headed to the scene, they were informed smoke was coming from one of the cars. When officers arrived, a BMW was engulfed in flames and a 2005 Nissan Sedan was overturned in the roadway.

CHP believes two cars were driving east on Highway 198 at the time of the collision.

Luis Osejo was speeding down the roadway in a BMW when he rear-ended Brittany Ramos, who was driving the Nissan, officers said.

Brittany Ramos died on scene. Osejo was able to escape his car before it caught flames.

He fled the scene and hasn't been found, officers said.

The family had to wait hours to know if she had her three young children in the car with her. They later learned that their grandchildren were safe.

But they are left without their mother.

Brittany Ramos' 3-year-old son keeps asking if he can call his "mommy."

"We tell him, 'She has a new job in Heaven,'" Robert Ramos said. "He says he wants to call her in Heaven."

Robert and Lisa Ramos said no matter what their daughter would always end up on top. Her favorite saying was, "Don't worry, I got this."

"She lived life to the fullest," said Melissa Meza, Brittany's older sister. "She didn't give a worry about anything."

Officers reached out to the public to help locate Osejo.

Officers said he is known to frequent Dinuba and Visalia. He is described at 5-foot, 9-inches tall and weighs 200 pounds.

In June 2012, Osejo won $1 million on a $250 Million Cash Spectacular Scratchers ticket. According to the California Lottery, Osejo planned to use the money to buy a house and to help pay off his mother’s house.

The ticket was purchased in Dinuba.

For now, the Ramos family is focusing on their grandchildren. But there are times when the frustration is too much.

"I don't want him to die. I don't want him to commit suicide," Robert Ramos said. "I want to face him. I want to see him with my eyes since I couldn't see my daughter for the last time in the mortuary. I need something in its place

The family is holding onto their daughter who the described as their "rebel" through the memories left behind.

"She use to come to my room and we would talk for hours and hours," Lisa Ramos said. "I treasure the times we would talk. I'm going to miss those intimate moments I shared with her. We were there for each other. I can't imagine life without her."

Luis Gustavo Osejo(Photo: California Highway Patrol)

Officers are asking for the public's help in locating Osejo. Officer Steve Beal said the CHP has been working around the clock to locate the suspect.

"We want to keep this in the public's eye," Robert Ramos said. "There is someone out there who is helping him."

Anyone with information on Osejo's whereabouts should call 734-6767. Services will be held on It will be at 3 p.m. on Friday ay Restoration Ministries, 1144 Sumter St. in Visalia.